Cashier machine



CASHIERl MACHIN E Filed Maranza; 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1 me/who@ J. C. STEDMAN CASHIER MACHINE apt.. l?, 1935.

2 Sheets-snee?l 2i Filed March 22, 1954 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES CASHIER MACHINE I Jacob C. Stedman, Memphis, Tenn. g Application March 22, 1934, Serial No. 716,804

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a cashier machine and it is an object of the same to provide an apparatus whereby predetermined sums of money varying in amount can be paid without requiring any 5 employee of the recipient to handle any part of the actual receipts, such apparatus embodying means facilitating supervision by such employee.

Another object oi the invention is to provid a distant control for the machine.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the annexed specication.

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts:

Fig. 1 is a perspective, partially in section, illustrating the machine and its method of use,

Fig. 2, a plan of parts shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3, an elevation of the machine per se, on an enlarged scale, and

Fig. 4, a vertical cross-section of the machine on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Y

In the drawings, reference character l indicates generally a counter which, for example, may be a lunch counter in a lunch room and reference character II indicates generally a cashier machine according to my invention 1ocated in a convenient and desirable position with reference to the counter, it being an object of my invention to so position the machine that an employee who is. generally otherwise occupied can supervise and control the operation of the machine.

The machine may be supported on a pedestal I 2, shown in Fig. l, or in any other suitable manner and it comprises a casing having a bottom I3 supporting a pair of drawers I4 and I5 which can be withdrawn toward the left in Fig. 3, after unlocking them by means of a key inserted in a lock such as indicated at I5.

Above the drawer I5 there is a coin chute I1 which is suitably supported in a manner to close the portion of the casing in front of the wall I8. A baille I9 is provided below the coin chute for checking the fall of coins through this part of the casing and for scattering them over the top of a pair of trap doors which form the bottom of the compartment that temporarily receives the coins. The bailie is supported at its corners by strips of metal 2| which may be attached to the corner members 22 of said compartment or to the side portions 23 of the coin chute, or otherwise suitably supported.

The front and side walls 24, 25 of the temporary coin compartment are made of transparent material such as glass and a mirror 26 is provided at the rear of the compartment to aid in illuminating the interior of the same, and the coins therein.

The trap doors 20 are pivoted at 2l, 21 and may be held in place by suitable springs. For 5 operating the doors, I have shown a pair of links 28 depending from the doors and pivoted thereto, said links being connected at their lower ends to a bar 29 secured to or forming part of the armature'S of an electromagnet 3l, shown as 10 located on the bottom member I3 of the casing. It will be obvious that coins supported on the trap doors maybe dumped off the same by energizing the electr-omagnet so as to pull the doors downward about their pivots 2l, thus causing the l5 coins to fall into the drawer I5. In order to insure against any coins falling into that part of the casing occupied by the electromagnet and the operating device connected therewith, I provide a deecting wall 32 which occupies an inclined 20 position so as to direct into the drawer I5 any coins that might otherwise fall into the right hand end of the casing, as indicated in Fig. 3.

At the back of the casing and above the coin chute I provide means for receiving such tickets 25 as are commonly used in lunch rooms and in other places for indicating the amount to be paid to the cashier. Such means comprises a series of slots in a member 34 of the casing. Below the slots I provide a series of transparent windows 35, each so positioned as to expose a ticket inserted through a slot 33, the tickets being supported adjacent the windows by a backing 36 and a trap door 3l which closes the bottom of the space between Windows and backing 36. 35

The trap door 3l is pivoted at 38 and a link 39 is pivoted to the trap door and to the bar 29 at its opposite ends so that the action of the electromagnet will open the trap door 3l whereupon l the tickets resting on said trap door fall through 40 the rear compartment of the casing into the drawer I4.

For operating the electromagnet I provide a circuit comprising conductors 40 and 4I connected respectively to a pair of contacts 42 and 45 43. The contact 43 is mounted on an arm 44 of a treadle 45 pivoted at 46 and normally held up by a spring 4l, which treadle may extend the full length of the counter and be suitably supported at desirable intervals.

In the operation of my device customers will be waited on at the counter as usual and will receive checks or tickets in ordinary manner. When leaving the place they will pass by the cashier machine, conveniently located with reference to the exit, and each customer will insert his ticket in. one of the slots provided for that purpose, at the same time placing in the coin chute coins of value corresponding to the amount stated on the ticket. If a customer does not have the correct change it will be necessary to secure the same; e. g., from a counter man. One customer may have several tickets in which case he may insert them in different ones of the slots and will place the aggregate amount corresponding to the numerals on the various tickets in the coin chute, from which the coins will fall down upon the trap doors 20, being suitably scattered by the baille I9, so that a clerk or counter man behind the counter can glance over and see that the deposited coins correspond tothe amount on the ticket or tickets. If he sees that the amount deposited is correct he will simply depress the treadle 45, thus closing the circuit to electromagnet 3|, whereupon the armature 30 and bar 29 will be drawn downward, thus opening trap doors 20 and 3l to permit the coins to descend into drawer I 5 while the tickets will descend into drawer I4. Any suitable means may be provided for returning the trap doors and associated parts to the position shown in Fig. 4, after the circuit has been broken due to the release of the treadle by the counter man.

It will be obvious that the sum total of the money in the cash drawer will equal the sum total on the amounts of the tickets in the ticket drawer and that no cash will be handled by any employee excepting the one who has a key to the drawers,

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes may be made in the device of my disclosure all without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings or described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a store device, means to hold a ticket in position to expose a face thereof, means to expose money in position for comparison with indicia on a ticket so exposed, a receptacle for the coins, a

receptacle for the tickets, means for dumping the 5 money and tickets into the respective receptacles after such comparison, said last-named means comprising pivoted trap doors supporting the tickets and money, an electromagnet below said doors, links depending from said doors and a l0 vertically movable horizontal bar carried by the armature of said electromagnet, each of said links being attached to said bar.

2. In a store service device adapted to be set at a distance from a counter and facing the same, 15 means to hold a ticket in position to expose a face thereof, means to expose money in position for comparison with indicia on a ticket so exposed, a receptacle for the coins, a receptacle for the tickets, means for dumping the money and 20 tickets into the respective receptacles after such comparison, said last-named means comprising trap doors supporting the tickets and money, an electromagnet, an armature for said electromagnet connected to each of said trap doors, a circuit 25 for said electromagnet, and means at said counter for closing this circuit.

3. In a store service device adapted to be set at a distance from a counter and facing the same, means to hold a ticket in position to expose a 30 face thereof, means to expose money in position for comparison with indicia on a ticket so exposed, a receptacle for the coins, a receptacle for the tickets, means for dumping the money and tickets into the respective receptacles after such 35 comparison, said last-named means comprising trap doors supporting the tickets and money, an electromagnet, an armature for said electromagnet connected to each of said trap doors, a circuit for said electromagnet, circuit-closing means in 46 cluding a treadle positioned behind said counter, a contact on the treadle, and a fixed contact in said circuit, said fixed contact being operatively related to the contact on the treadle.

JACOB C. STEDMAN. 

